Existing collapsible sidewall and centerline seat structures, such as, for example, those of the type generally disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 2,700,412 issued to Robert B. Evans et al., and as may be found within military or non-military cargo and personnel transport aircraft, are conventionally provided with flexible back and seat bottom portions. The seat bottom portion often includes means for moving the same horizontally forwardly or outwardly away from or relative to the back portion of the seat structure so as to increase the seat bottom depth in order to accommodate a military paratrooper or civilian parachutist having a parachute pack secured upon his back.
When the paratrooper or parachutist is in fact seated within the seat structure, however, the parachute pack is nevertheless disposed a considerable distance above the seat bottom portion of the seat structure. Consequently, the weight load of the parachute pack must be borne solely by the paratrooper or parachutist, and more particularly by means of the shoulder regions of the paratrooper's or parachutist's body due to the structure of the parachute pack harness. This weight load becomes quite tiresome and burdensome after a considerable period of time, such as, for example, the time period extending from aircraft take-off to the parachuting drop point, and the parachute pack becomes quite uncomfortable to bear.
A need therefore exists for a seat structure which will comfortably accommodate military paratroopers or civilian parachutists when such personnel are laden with their parachute packs, or alternatively, when such personnel are seated within the seat structure devoid of their parachute packs. In particular, when such personnel are laden with their parachute pack loads, seat structure is needed which can support such loads and relieve the personnel per se from bearing such loads.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved seat structure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seat structure which is particularly adaptable for use by military paratroop or civilian parachutist personnel within aircraft carrying such personnel to, for example, a parachute drop location.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seat structure which will rectify the operational deficiencies of conventional seat structures presently disposed within parachute personnel drop aircraft.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seat structure which is able to in fact comfortably accommodate military paratroop or civilian parachutist personnel when such personnel are either laden with a parachute pack load or not laden with a parachute pack load.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seat structure which is particularly adaptable for use by military paratroop or civilian parachutist personnel within aircraft carrying such personnel whereby, when such personnel are laden with their parachute pack loads, the seat structure of the present invention can adequately support such loads.
Yet still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seat structure which is particularly adaptable for use by military paratroop or civilian parachutist personnel within aircraft carrying such personnel whereby, when such personnel are laden with their parachute pack loads, the seat structure of the present invention can relieve such loads from the shoulder regions of such personnel.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seat structure which is convertible between two different modes or arrangements so as to in fact be capable of comfortably accommodating the military paratroop or civilian parachutist personnel when such personnel are either laden with their parachute packs or, alternatively, devoid of such parachute packs and the attendant loads.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seat structure which is easily convertible between the two different operational modes or arrangements so as to be readily available for service in either one of the two different operational modes or arrangements for accommodating the personnel as may be required.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seat structure which, aside from the particularly unique novel improvements characteristic of the present invention as compared to conventional collapsible sidewall and centerline seat structures, the seat structure of the present invention is nevertheless operable, serviceable, and structured in a manner substantially similar to such conventional collapsible sidewall and centerline seat structures.
A yet still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seat structure, the structural features and improvements of which may readily be applied to or incorporated within conventional collapsible sidewall and centerline aircraft seat structures in order to convert or modify the same, as may be desired or required, so as to be operable in the two modes exhibited by the improved seat structure of the present invention.
A still yet further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved seat structure which is substantially simplified in structure and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.